Instant messaging (IM) is a popular digital communication system that provides for real-time communication between users who are connected to such systems through an online or electronic networking environment, such as the Internet or a corporate intranet. One of the functions typically provided by an IM system is to inform the user whether selected other users are currently available to receive instant messages. In general, IM systems check whether a user is connected to the network, and if so, the user is deemed to be at his workstation and available to receive instant messages.
Some IM systems allow a user to manually set an IM status as “unavailable” or to enable the “I am away” feature of an IM client. This feature allows other IM users monitoring another's online presence to be informed that this person is currently not available, but gives no indication when the user may return. Some IM systems can detect if a user is no longer active by, for example, detecting when the screensaver is invoked on the user's workstation. When the screensaver is invoked, the IM client considers the user to be unavailable, but again, gives no indication when the user may return. E-mail systems typically provide an “away” feature as well. When an e-mail user configures his e-mail client to notify message senders that he is away, this provides a type of limited feedback to the sender, notifying him that an urgent message will not likely be acted upon with urgency. The e-mail user can set his “away” feature to include information regarding his location and return. Frequently, however, users forget to set the status, or find it too bothersome to use.
Instant messaging, voice/video communications and other forms of digital communication systems may provide users with the ability to provide instructions to various message senders regarding action to take in their absence. For example, one or more alternate contacts may be provided in an “I am away” message. However, conventional alternate contacts notifications are not user-friendly. For example, when a user is trying to reach a currently unavailable primary contact, they have to get the notification about the unavailability of the primary contact first, and then try to find the alternate contact to address their question. Additionally, the alternate contact provided may not have the proper expertise to deal with the user's question.